Saturday, 18 March 2017

STYLISHLY | F**K YOU TO CANCER

A slightly different read for you this week by forgetting the so called style and glamour, as I wanted to share with you the little countryside adventure of sweet calming Norfolk, that the bonafides and I took back in January.

Five minutes after entering our new rural wooden home our bras were off, my makeup was removed and I had no intentions of scrolling through Instagram. Literally surrounded by sheep and yarmouth moors of nothingness I immediately felt at home and freely liberated. You know my mad love of London town (read here) is pretty wild, but with a fire lit, prosecco chilled and an outdoor hot tub preheated (by two of the girlies arriving earlier) a city escape was pretty needed.

Now I did debate with myself whether to keep this post airy fairy and light, but I really wanted to be honest with you and explain the real reason why we were all there….Six letters C.A.N.C.E.R! And sadly a year and a half ago (roughly end of 2015) one of my closest friends Vikki (nick named Dag) told me she had breast cancer.....via our group whats app messenger (Bless her as she didn't know how to tell us all individually (seven friends in total)).

I remember reading the message and instantly calling Vikki to make sure it wasn’t a sick wind up (as I had met Vikki only a few weeks prior with her son). Unfortunately it wasn’t a joke and we all met up that Friday shocked to discuss the situation in more detail. Vikki told us all the vital information over a bottle of wine, and all seven of us ended up dancing the night away in true fighting bonafide spirit.

Vikki's outlook on dealing with cancer has shown huge strength and courage, she never ever wants us banging on about it. And I'll ask her how she is and she'll just reflect the question back to me…she just doesn’t want any pity or to be treated differently. Selfishly I couldn't help but think why the fuck am I going through this shit all over again! I didn’t want to see a beautiful friend of mine, a young mother that I’ve known since I was 15 go through pain. I was angry and quite upset. (I hope your still with me??)

So here we are in 2017, after a breast removal and chemo treatments, the doctors have told her the cancer is actually stable for now (not spreading)…….We’ve all seen her change drastically because of the chemo treatments tole on her body, and seeing that scares me. Vikki is just making sure she makes the most of life with her two sons and husband.....Sorry I don't even know where I’m now going with this....I did say it's a bit of a different harder post to write and read for you, but I really wanted to write an honest account of coping with cancer.……And I know the illness isn't about me but the impact on family and friends makes you feel so unbelievably helpless.

As you can imagine we all really wanted to make this particular trip to the coast a special memorable one for Vikki. And our stay at Fairway Lake Lodges was just that. A fabulous time of laughter, dancing, cooking, drInking, listening, country lane walking, singing, movie watching and crying….. I guess I’m trying to say we never talk about our fears or never really talk about the times that are hard……So here I am telling you about mine as a gentle reminder to you to do the lovely enriching things in life that make you truly happy….Enjoy yourself and let’s make plenty more memories…….x

This post is dedicated to Vikki and anyone else out there feeling the effects of Cancer.